Chest



E. A. HEIDTMANN.

CHEST. APPLICATION FILED APR, 11, 1917.

Patented May 25, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNST A. HEIDTMANN, 0F RICHMOND HILL, NEW YORK.

CHEST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNST A. Hnm'r- MANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Richmond Hill, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chests, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates more particularly to a class of containers adapted to be used in conjunction with silverware and the like.

My invention has for its object primarily to provide a chest designed to be employed particularly for keeping silverware, such as knives, forks, spoons and other articles in classified groups for being conveniently stored away when not in use as well as being easily accessible for utilization as occasion requires. The invention consists essentially of a hollow body having an open top, and to the body is hinged a lid so as to be swung to open and closed positions on the body. Adapted to be moved inwardly and outwardly of the open top of the body is a frame member, or carrier with a tray and one or a number of drawers for reception of the articles, and on the carrier and lid of the chest may be one or a number of lifting elements whereby the carrier may be raised and lowered in unison with the opening and closing of the lid.

Other objects of the invention are to provide guides to cause the carrier to be accurately moved in the body of the chest; to provide one or a number of locking elements for releasably holding the carrier when raised in the body; and to provide a chest of a simple and eflicient construction adapted to be made in various sizes and shapes either in plain or ornamental designs.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification in which similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and will then be pointed out in the claim at the end of the description.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, showing one form of my improved chest with its lid swung open and with the carrier member in an elevated position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the chest.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line IIL-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end view, partly broken away of the chest with its lid in a closed position, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on the line V-V of Fi 3.

The chest has a hollow body 10, with an open top, and this body may be of any deslred shape and size, though the body is preferably substantially rectangular in shape to provide a bottom 11, front wall 12,

rear wall 13, and side walls 14, 15. To the upper edge of the rear wall 13 is hinged, at 16 and 17, a lid, as 18, adapted to be swung to open and closed positions on the open top of the body, and this lid when closed may be releasably fastened to the body by any well-known or preferred type of lock, adapted to be operated by a key or otherwise.

Within the body 10 of the chest is a carrier or frame member 20 which is telescopically adjustable inwardly and outwardly of the open top of the body, and this frame member is also substantially rectangular in shape to provide side walls 21, 22, a rear wall 23, and a top 21. The side walls and rear wall of the frame member are of depths so that their upper edges extend some distance above the top 21, and between the front ends of the upper parts of the side walls of the frame member is a strip 25 so that these parts of the frame member above its top 24 provide a compartment, as 26, with an open top to serve as a tray for holding articles in silverware and the like. Arranged crosswise between the eentral parts of the side walls of the frame member may be one, or a number of partitions 27 to provide compartments with drawers 28 and 29 therein so as to be slidably guided inwardly and outwardly of the frame member toward and from the front wall of the body 10 of the chest, and on each of the drawers may be a suitable handle, as 30, to allow the drawers to be manually moved.

The adjustable carrier, or frame member 20 is of a size so as to be entirely inclosed in the body 10 when the lid is closed, and to cause the frame member with its tray and drawers to be raised a suitable distance above the open top of the body, lifting elements, as 30 and 81, are provided. The lifting elements 30 and 31 may be of any flexible forms, though each element is preferably composed of two strips, or bars 32 and 33 each having its opposite end pivoted together, as at 34. The second end of the bar 32 of each of the lifting elements is pivoted, at 35, to one of the side walls of the frame member, while the second endof the bar 33 of each lifting element is pivoted, at 36, to the other'side wall of the frame member, and both of the lifting elements are of lengths so that when the lid 18 is swung open these elements will be operated so that the frame member with its tray and drawers will be raised upwardly through the open top of the body of the chest a suflicient distance above the body for the drawers to be guided outwardly and inwardly of their compartments in the frame member. Silverware, such as knives, forks, spoons as well as other articles may then be suitably arranged in the tray and drawers of the frame member, or removed therefrom as oocasion requires, and to cause the frame member to accurately move upwardly and downwardly in the body of the chest, guides, as 37 and 38, are provided.

Both of the guides 37 and 38 may be alike in formations, and each of the guides preferably consists of two interfitting members 39 and 40. The member 89 of each guide is in the form of a channel bar with a groove l1 lengthwise thereof, and one of these bars is arranged vertically on the central part of each of the side walls of the body 10 whereby the grooves will be opposed to the frame member. The member 40 of each of the guides is in the form of a bar of substantially a T-shape, and these T-shaped bars are secured on the central parts of the side walls of the frame member, or carrier 20 so that one of their arms is slidably disposed in the groove of the channel bar of the guides. By the use of these guides in this manner the frame member, or carrier 20 will be accurately moved when raised and lowered in the body of the chest by swinging the lid 18 to open and closed positions, as above described.

In order to releasably hold the frame member 20 when elevated in the body of the chest, I provide locking elements 42 and 43, both of which may be similarly formed. These locking elements may be of any suitable types, though each element is preferably inthe form of an approximately L- shaped strip of spring metal to provide a vertical arm a l and a longitudinal arm at.

The vertical arm of each of the L-shaped locking elements or spring strips is bent on an incline so that its upper end extends beyond the free end of the longitudinal arm of the strip. The strips are arranged on the side walls of the frame member so that when the frame member is elevated in the body of the chest the longitudinal arms of the strips will releasably rest on the upper edge of the body to releasably hold the frame member against accidental movement downward in the body, and to accomplish this the upper ends of the vertical arms of the strips are secured to the frame member so that the elbows of the arms of the strips will protrude laterally some distances from the frame member. The longitudinal arms of the strips may be very short in length, and these strips are tensioned to normally force their elbows from the frame member so that when it is desired to lower the frame member in the body of the chest the strips are released from their engagement with the body by being forced toward the frame member, and these strips together with the frame member may then be guided downwardly in the body of the chest, the frame member being of a size to allow these strips to be accommodated in the body with the frame member.

In the foregoing description, I have embodied the preferred form of my invention, but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I am aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the principle, or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, therefore I reserve to myself the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I cl'aim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination, in a chest of the kind described, of a hollow body having an open top with a lid hinged thereto for being swung to open and closed positions, a tray frame member adjustable inwardly and outwardly of the open top of the body, a pair of side lifting elements for the tray frame member, each including a pair of hingedly connected bars, one pivoted to the lid and the other substantially centrally to a side of the frame member, and means for limiting the inward movement of the tray frame member to cause folding of the lifting elements when the lid is closed. i

This specification signed and witnessed this 10th day of April, A. D. 1917.

ERNST A. HEH'lTMA N N.

Witnesses Gnonen F. BENTLEY, V. M. RUMPH. 

